Long gone are the times when all you had to do to get your family photographs was just to turn up at the studio wearing your Sunday best. Lifestyle portraiture is highly personalised, often activity-based, steeped in genuine emotions and requires collaboration between your family and your photographer. Hence, you need to pre-plan what kind of location and activities will allow to capture the spirit of your family better. But don’t worry – the planning process is pretty straightforward and painless. And Pinterest is here to help.

The WRONG way to use the Pinterest board is to pick a few photographs and ask your photographer to duplicate them for your family. No responsible professional will agree to plagiarise the work of their fellow photographer. Moreover, in most cases it is impossible because your family dynamic, your outfits and location, as well as the photographer’s vision, lighting and post-processing techniques will differ. Just accept it!

The RIGHT way is to treat the ‘Lifestyle family portraits’ board and other online resources only as a starting point for some brainstorming on your part. Think what you can do together as a family during your portrait session.

You can

feed the swans in the local park

climb the hill

walk in the fields

ride a bike

throw autumn leaves in the air

organise a family picnic

play ball games

pick fruit in your garden

visit fairground

blow and catch soap bubbles

plant new shrubs

pick flowers

dress up in vintage clothes

play with your pets

feed chickens

build a sand castle at the seaside

jump on a trampoline

go fishing or boating

cook sausages at the camp file

start a water fight with a garden hose.

This list (ranging from the simplest activities, such as walking in the fields, to more involved choices) is endless – and you are welcome to add your ideas in the comments.

The pins I added to the board also aim to inspire you to think what type of clothes may suit your family activity, what props you’ll need to bring to the shoot or what location to choose.

Now you are ready and probably have two or three exciting ideas to discuss with your photographer who will decide which one of them is the most feasible in terms of lighting and logistics!